Latch



April 13, 1943.

w. o. BURKE LATCH Filed April 21, 1941 INVENT OR.

BY ZUdZamO Patented Apr. 13, 1943 LATCH William O. Burke, Rockford,Ill., assignor to National Lock- C.o., Rockford, 111., a corporation ofDelaware Application April 21, 1941, Serial N 389,607

4. Claims.

This invention relates. to latches adapte-idv for various purposes, theembodiment of the invention herein illustrated being particularlysuitable for use on refrigerator cabinets and. the like where a tightclosing of the door is essential.

A purpose of the invention is the provision of a latch Which will besturdy and substantial in structure, and durable and reliable inoperation. Furthermore, the latch is simple in constructio-n andconsists of a few parts. so. that it can be economically produced.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a latch of the pivotedbolt type in which a manually operable lever is so connected with thebolt. that the bolt may be retracted by operation of the lever may alsobe retracted by the strdee upon closing movement of the door independently of the lever, which, during such. retractive movement of the bolt, isheld stationary.

A further feature resides. in the employment of a spring interposedbetween a fixed abutment on the housing and the latch bolt by which thelatch bolt is continuously urged into projected position and against theforce of which the bolt is moved, whether retracted manually through thelever or independently of the lever by an external force.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated fromthe following description when considered in connection With theaccompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through a door frame and door upon whichmy improved latch is mountd;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the latch shown in Fig. 1;and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, reference character 5 indicatesa door jamb of a refrigerator cabinet, for instance, upon which isadjustably mounted a latch strike 6. A door I equipped with a sealingstrip 8 is adapted to close against the jamb to provide an air-tightseal.

The latch which is mounted in the door structure comprises a housing 9,here shown as a channel-shaped, sheet metal structure having an endclosure wall ll. Any other suitable mounting for the operating parts ofthe latch may be employed in lieu of the housing illustrated.

Near the end of the housing opposite the Wall H, a pivot pin or pintle12 extends transversely between and through the walls of the housing.

Upon this pin is pivotally mounted the latch bolt, designated generallyas 13, which comprises the two spaced apart legs l4 and I5 pivoted onthe,

pin l2, connected by an integral crossbar l6 and provided between theirouter extremities with a roller l'i' with which the strike 6 is designedto cooperate in holding the door snugly against the jam-b.

Extending between and through the legs 14 and i5 is a pin 58 upon whichis pivotally mounted a spring guide in the form of a link 19 projectinginwarfly from the bolt and. provided with a slot 2! engaging a pin 22:anchored in the side walls of the housing and providing an abutment,between which and the latch bolt, the expansion spring 23v isinterposed. It will be obvious. that this: spring continuously urges thelatch bolt into the projected position illustrated in full lines on thedrawing.

Upon the pivot pin it, there is also fulcrumed a lever which preferablycomprises a pair of lever members 24 and 25 disposed upon'the pivot pinbetween the side Walls of the housing and the outer faces ofthelatchbolt legs l4 and IS. The rear ends of these lever members arerigidly conneoted by a transverse pin 26 so that the assembly forms inefiect a single lever. A link 2'! pivoted upon the pin 26 between thelever members is connected at its opposite end with a pull rod '23extending through the outer face of the door for connection withsuitable means, whereby an outward pull upon the rod may be manuallyexerted to retract the latch bolt.

For the purpose of retracting the bolt by operation of the lever and forpermitting the bolt to be retracted by the strike without moving thelever when the door is swung to closed position, a lost motionconnection between the operating lever and the bolt is provided. Thisconnection comprises the pin it and a pair of arcuate slots 29 and 31formed in the respective lever members 2 1 and 25 and through which theends of the pin project, as will be apparent from Fig. 3.

In the present instance, the pin I8 is shown as projecting beyond theouter faces of the lever members 24 and 25, and the casing is struckoutwardly to provide the arcuate grooves 32 and 33 for the reception ofthese pin ends. This structural detail may be omitted if preferred. Theends of the pin I8 and the outer ends of the slots 29 and 3| formcooperating abutments by which the latch bolt may be retracted byoperation of lever 24. A coiled spring 34 surrounding the pivot pin l2and anchored by its projecting end 35 has its other end 36 engaged in atang 31 struck inwardly from the lever member 24 and serves to restorethe operating lever to and retain it in normal position.

Assuming that the door is closed and th latch parts are in the positionshown in full lines on the drawing, the latch'bolt may be retracted fromthe strike 6 into the dotted line position of Figs. 1 and 2 by anoutward pull exerted upon the rod 28, which swings the operating leverfrom the full line to the dotted line position shown thereby, throughthe abutment of the outer ends of the slots 29 and 3i with th projectingends of pin 18, pulling the latch bolt free from engagement with thestrike. When the pull on the rod 28 is released, the parts will berestored to normal position by the spring 23. When the latch boltengages the inclined portion of the strike 6 upon closing movement ofthe door, the bolt will be forced into retracted position to clear thestrike against the force of spring 23. 'In this operation, however, theends of the pin l8 ride idly in the slots 29 and 3| while the operatinglever is retained in normal position by the spring 34.

The structural details illustrated and described may obviously be variedwithin considerable limits without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a latch, the combination of a housing, a latch bolt and a levercoaxially pivoted on said housing, Cooperating abutments provided byslots in the lever and a pin carried by the bolt Whereby the bolt isretracted by operation of the lever, a link pivotally connected at oneend by said pin to the bolt and slidably associated at its other endwith a fixed abutment on the housing, and a spring interposed on saidlink between the bolt and said abutment for urging the bolt intoprojected position.

2. In a latch, the combination of a channelshaped housing, a latch boltpivoted adjacent one end thereof, a lever pivoted concentrically withthe pivot axis of the bolt, a spring for yieldingly holding said leverin normal position, a fixed abutment carried by the housing, a linkslidable on said abutment, a pin connecting said link to said bolt, aspring interposed on said link between said abutment and the latch boltpin for urging said bolt into projected position, and a lost motionconnection between the bolt and the lever including slots in said leverthrough which said pin extends whereby the bolt is retracted byoperation of the lever and is permitted to be retracted while the leverremains stationary.

3. In a latch, the combination of a housin a latch bolt comprising twospaced apart legs pivotally mounted in said housing, a pin extendingtransversely of the housing through said latch bolt legs, a leverpivoted concentrically with the latch bolt pivot, said lever comprisingspaced apart legs straddling the latch bolt and provided with arcuateslots through which said latch bolt pin projects, a link pivoted at oneend on said latch bolt pin and provided at its other end with a slot, anabutment pin extending through said slot and anchored in the sides ofthe housing, a spring on said link adapted to exert an operating thrustupon the latch bolt pin and said abutment pin, and means for actuatingsaid lever.

4. In a latch, the combination of a housing, a latch bolt comprising twospaced apart legs pivotally mounted in said housing, a lever comprisinga pair of spaced apart members interposed between the latch bolt legsand the housing walls and fulcrumed on said latch bolt pivot, said 1evermembers being provided with arcuate slots and the inner faces of thehousing walls being provided with correspondingly shaped grooves, a pinextending transversely through said latch bolt legs and said slots insaid lever and into the grooves in the housing wall, an abutment pinextending transversely of the housing, a. spring interposed between saidtransversely extending pin and said abutment pin, a spring acting onsaid lever, and means for actuating said lever.

WILLIAM O. BURKE.

